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Diversity
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Cryptic Biodiversity in Freshwater Ecosystems
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Cryptic Biodiversity in Freshwater Ecosystems

A special issue of Diversity (ISSN 1424-2818). This special issue belongs to the section "Biodiversity Conservation".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (25 August 2021) | Viewed by 10314

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Genoveva F. Esteban

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, Bournemouth University, Wallisdown, Poole, Dorset BH12 5BB, UK
Interests: microbial eukaryotes; microbial ecology and biodiversity; biogeography; symbiosis
Dr. Hunter N. Hines

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute, Florida Atlantic University, Fort Pierce, FL 34946, USA
Interests: microbial ecology; ciliates; biogeography; biodiversity; conservation

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Public awareness of nature is at an all-time high, with data showing that nine out of ten adults are concerned about biodiversity loss and threats to the natural environment.  Biodiversity, climate change and conservation tend to focus on particular species that are symbolic of specific habitats, such as polar bears. This helps to raise public and scientific awareness and, with it, support for their conservation. But biodiversity is much more than that – and that is what this Special issue on Cryptic biodiversity in freshwater ecosystems sets off to investigate.  For some, cryptic biodiversity refers to organisms invisible to the naked eye (the realm of the microscopic world), or those that are dormant or perhaps present in such low numbers that they are undetected during routine microscopic surveys. This ‘unseen’ biodiversity is responsible for the functioning of ecosystems and for their recovery after environmental change.  Others consider cryptic species as the discrete (e.g. sibling, molecular) species that are undistinguishable morphologically, and which occur in many taxonomic groups. This Special issue focuses on freshwater aquatic environments and offers a window into the hidden worlds of their diverse cryptic species, from micro- to macro-organisms. The investigation of cryptic species enhances our understanding of the ecology of freshwater systems, and forms the grounds for future conservation efforts for species at all levels of concern.

Prof. Dr. Genoveva F. Esteban
Dr. Hunter N. Hines
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • microbial eukaryotes
  • cryptic species
  • biogeography
  • conservation
  • climate change

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

10 pages, 2662 KiB  
Article
A Case Building Ciliate in the Genus Pseudoblepharisma Found in Subtropical Fresh Water
by Hunter N. Hines, Peter J. McCarthy and Genoveva F. Esteban
Diversity 2022, 14(3), 174; https://doi.org/10.3390/d14030174 - 27 Feb 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 3002
Abstract
The genus Pseudoblepharisma is currently comprised of only one species, P. tenue, and one variant, P. tenue var. viride, both described as free-living ciliates thriving in oxygen depleted freshwater habitats of Europe. Here we report on this genus being discovered from [...] Read more.
The genus Pseudoblepharisma is currently comprised of only one species, P. tenue, and one variant, P. tenue var. viride, both described as free-living ciliates thriving in oxygen depleted freshwater habitats of Europe. Here we report on this genus being discovered from subtropical freshwaters of Florida, USA. The Florida strain diverges from the P. tenue by being much larger, as well as having a far higher density of intracellular symbiotic green algae, resembling P. tenue var. viride. Unlike its European counterparts, the North American strain was observed to build a lorica, likely useful for protection and feeding; this has not been previously described for this genus. In contrast to P. tenue, the Florida strain does not have endosymbiotic purple bacteria. Despite large distances between sampling zones, the species is a close match at a morphological level to Pseudoblepharisma tenue var. viride. We provide the first 18S rRNA gene sequence for this species, allowing future investigations into the biogeography of this genus. As intensive sampling efforts continue to increase, cryptic microbial species will continue to be recorded from diverse freshwater habitats at a global scale. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cryptic Biodiversity in Freshwater Ecosystems)
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17 pages, 4599 KiB  
Article
Paramecium bursaria—A Complex of Five Cryptic Species: Mitochondrial DNA COI Haplotype Variation and Biogeographic Distribution
by Magdalena Greczek-Stachura, Maria Rautian and Sebastian Tarcz
Diversity 2021, 13(11), 589; https://doi.org/10.3390/d13110589 - 18 Nov 2021
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 3156
Abstract
Ciliates are a diverse protistan group and many consist of cryptic species complexes whose members may be restricted to particular biogeographic locations. Mitochondrial genes, characterized by a high resolution for closely related species, were applied to identify new species and to distinguish closely [...] Read more.
Ciliates are a diverse protistan group and many consist of cryptic species complexes whose members may be restricted to particular biogeographic locations. Mitochondrial genes, characterized by a high resolution for closely related species, were applied to identify new species and to distinguish closely related morphospecies. In the current study, we analyzed 132 sequences of COI mtDNA fragments obtained from P. bursaria species collected worldwide. The results allowed, for the first time, to generate a network of COI haplotypes and demonstrate the relationships between P. bursaria strains, as well as to confirm the existence of five reproductively isolated haplogroups. The P. bursaria haplogroups identified in the present study correspond to previously reported syngens (R1, R2, R3, R4, and R5), thus we decided to propose the following binominal names for each of them: P. primabursaria, P. bibursaria, P. tribursaria, P. tetrabursaria, and P. pentabursaria, respectively. The phylogeographic distribution of P. bursaria species showed that P. primabursaria and P. bibursaria were strictly Eurasian, except for two South Australian P. bibursaria strains. P. tribursaria was found mainly in Eastern Asia, in two stands in Europe and in North America. In turn, P. tetrabursaria was restricted to the USA territory, whereas P. pentabursaria was found in two European localities. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cryptic Biodiversity in Freshwater Ecosystems)
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23 pages, 4212 KiB  
Article
Patterns of Cryptic Diversity and Phylogeography in Four Freshwater Copepod Crustaceans in European Lakes
by Elena Kochanova, Abhilash Nair, Natalia Sukhikh, Risto Väinölä and Arild Husby
Diversity 2021, 13(9), 448; https://doi.org/10.3390/d13090448 - 19 Sep 2021
Cited by 19 | Viewed by 3147
Abstract
Comparative phylogeography has become a powerful approach in exploring hidden or cryptic diversity within widespread species and understanding how historical and biogeographical factors shape the modern patterns of their distribution. Most comparative phylogeographic studies so far focus on terrestrial and vertebrate taxa, while [...] Read more.
Comparative phylogeography has become a powerful approach in exploring hidden or cryptic diversity within widespread species and understanding how historical and biogeographical factors shape the modern patterns of their distribution. Most comparative phylogeographic studies so far focus on terrestrial and vertebrate taxa, while aquatic invertebrates (and especially freshwater invertebrates) remain unstudied. In this article, we explore and compare the patterns of molecular diversity and phylogeographic structure of four widespread freshwater copepod crustaceans in European water bodies: the harpacticoids Attheyella crassa, Canthocamptus staphylinus and Nitokra hibernica, and the cyclopoid Eucyclops serrulatus, using sequence data from mtDNA COI and nuclear ITS/18S rRNA genes. The three taxa A. crassa, C. staphylinus and E. serrulatus each consist of deeply diverged clusters and are deemed to represent complexes of species with largely (but not completely) non-overlapping distributions, while in N. hibernica only little differentiation was found, which may however reflect the geographically more restricted sampling. However, the geographical patterns of subdivision differ. The divisions in A. crassa and E. serrulatus follow an east–west pattern in Northern Europe whereas that in C. staphylinus has more of a north–south pattern, with a distinct Fennoscandian clade. The deep mitochondrial splits among populations of A. crassa, C. staphylinus and E. serrulatus (model-corrected distances 26–36%) suggest that divergence of the lineages predate the Pleistocene glaciations. This study provides an insight into cryptic diversity and biogeographic distribution of freshwater copepods. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cryptic Biodiversity in Freshwater Ecosystems)
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